Vegan Chocolate, Oatmeal and Peanut Butter Muffins

I have a big jar of peanut butter at home and wanted to finish it before it expires in a couple of months. We are not a “peanut-butter-family” but for my son who likes it on breads and rotis. I have never baked with peanut butter so far, so I thought I will give it a try. I came across a lot of baking recipes using peanut butter in Esther Brody’s “1500 Best Bars, Cakes, Cookies, Muffins and More”. The following recipe for oatmeal peanut butter muffins is inspired from 3 recipes in that book.

Preheat the oven at 400F/200C for 15 minutes. Grease with little cooking spray or line the muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl combine together the flour, oatmeal, cocoa powder, sugar and baking powder.

In a small sauce pan, over low heat, melt peanut butter in milk, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Once the peanut butter mixture is cool, incorporate it into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan filling it to the top of each cup.

The above batter was enough for 9 muffins. So I filled the remaining 3 cups with water to ensure even baking of the muffins. I took out mine from the oven after 16 minutes, but I think 13-15 minutes should be perfect. I felt that in this recipe the smell of the muffins is an indicator of the doneness in addition to the toothpick test. I started smelling a burnt cocoa smell and that’s when I removed the muffins. So the tops were a bit crusty and it had turned slightly back. Either have a close watch or reduce the oven temperature to 350F and bake it accordingly.

Taste:

I’m not a fan of peanut butter. So far I have tasted only peanut butter cookies and nothing else baked using it. So I was not sure if I would like these peanut butter muffins. Surprisingly enough the flavor of peanut butter was not dominating. It had the perfect blend of chocolate and peanut butter. The sweetness was right for us not as sweet as the store bought muffins. So If you prefer it sweeter add some chocolate chips or increase the quantity of sugar to 1 cup. Since I was making a vegan version I did not add chocolate chips but I don’t regret it at all.

My Notes:

Use dairy/non dairy milk of your choice.

As mentioned in the Procedure, either adjust the oven temperature or the baking time to get perfect muffins.

Ratings and Reviews (15)

80 Responses to “Vegan Chocolate, Oatmeal and Peanut Butter Muffins”

I made these this morning since I ran out of eggs. I substituted the cocoa powder for 1/2 C of Trader Joe’s chocolate chips (vegan), subbed the regular quick-cook oats for TJ’s quick-cook multigrain hot cereal (rye, barley, oats, and wheat mix), used Unsweetened almond milk, reduced the sugar to 1/2 C, and used chunky peanut butter.

The batter came out thick and moist, with a light sweetness and easily filled 12 standard size muffin cups.

The muffins are thick and hearty, esp since I used multi grain mixed cereal. We love peanut butter, so the chunky variety works nicely in this. These are yummy and would rock with some extra add-ins like a mashed banana, applesauce, raisins, etc.

as a newcomer to vegan baking these were great and I already had all the ingredients at my house. I added chocolate chips and garnished with finely chopped almonds. after mixing the batter I wanted it it just a tad more liquidy so I added a splash of some almond nog which worked perfectly. I also baked at 350 so it took a bit longer than 15 minutes but you just have to keep your eye on them. really delicious and perfect for when im craving sweets and theres not any cruelty free treats around!